Phygicards announces first product launch set for Oct. 14th
For Immediate Release
PhygiCards: The Next Evolution of NFTs and Trading Cards Has Arrived
San Diego, CA (October 5, 2021) – As the buying, selling and trading of commodities continues to explode in today’s collectibles marketplace with the likes of Non-fungible tokens (NFTs) emerging as digital forms of physical art, collectors and investors are faced with a new decision. Do you want to own the physical item (i.e., original paintings, illustrations or trading cards) or will a unique, digital representation suffice? In the booming sports card industry, yet another evolution of the NFT momentum has arrived: PhygiCards.
The brainchild of Brenton Demko, an entrepreneur and former Upper Deck Company employee, PhygiCards bridges the gap between both the physical and digital worlds by providing a tangible copy of the NFT, as well as an exceptional interactive experience.
“In trying to understand the collectability of NFTs versus physical trading cards, my team was trying to come up with a way for a collector to have both the physical copy of the NFT and the digital NFT itself,” said Demko.
His vision of combining the best of both worlds is now ready to debut. In the company’s first dual offering, PhygiCards is featuring San Diego-native Thatcher Demko, Brenton’s 25-year-old son, who just happens to be a goaltender for the NHL’s Vancouver Canucks. Capitalizing on Thatcher’s incredible performance during the team’s 2020 Western Conference second-round battle against the Vegas Golden Knights, PhygiCards is unveiling four original cards showcasing the young goalie. A portion of Thatcher’s proceeds will be donated to the BC Children’s Hospital (http://www.bcchildrens.ca).
“Our long-term goal with PhygiCards is to help individual athletes start developing their personal brands through art-based cards and NFTs,” explained Demko.
The first four cards all feature original artwork of Thatcher supplied by top-notch industry artists including Blake Jamieson, Lauren Taylor, Dan Pietens and Jamie Thomas. Their remarkable art will be paired with interesting factoids covering his sensational 2020 playoff run. Each of the cards boasts a specific theme stemming from his unforgettable rookie performance: “Playoff Save % .985,” “Playoff GAA .64,” “48 Save Playoff Shutout,” and “Playoff Performer,” the latter capturing all of the highlights stemming from his memorable three-game postseason run between the pipes.
The initial launch features two different versions of each of the four aforementioned themes. All of the first edition trading cards sport silver foil stamping, UV coating, die cuts and include PhygiLink, an embedded Near-Field Communication (NFC) chip that can be scanned with any NFC-enabled device. Once scanned with a smartphone – a quick touch of your phone to the card will suffice – it brings collectors to a landing page that provides specific details on the featured playoff performance as well as biographical information about the artist behind the card. Future interactivity will be incorporated into Phygicards, giving collectors a way to stay connected to their favorite player. These first edition trading cards will be available this month for $29.99 per card at www.td35.net.
Each of the limited-edition (1/35) NFT-linked trading cards is equipped with PhygiLink. Once the chip is scanned, the collector is given real-time authentication of the NFT on the blockchain including the NFT properties, levels, contract address and Token ID. The NFT’s will be minted on the Polygon chain on the OpenSea marketplace. No other trading card company is providing this level of authenticity and blockchain confirmation. The NFT-linked trading cards are only available via auction; collectors will be able to place bids on Thatcher’s rare NFTs here: https://opensea.io/collection/td35. To better understand how the PhygiLink works, watch this video clip: https://youtu.be/lp7iBk1c2lw
“As traditional collectors, we had a hard time wrapping our heads around a digital-only trading card,” said Demko. “So, we decided to create cards that linked to their digital NFT to give collectors the best of both worlds.”
“We are on the ground floor of evolving trading card collecting. The authenticity, provenance and the collectability of NFTs, and the benefits the blockchain can provide, are laying the groundwork for the future of trading cards and NFTs. We believe we are at the forefront of it.”
Demko is no stranger to introducing innovation to the industry. During his tenure at Upper Deck, he was instrumental in helping to launch the company’s Personalized Cards division as well as a cutting-edge authentication device called PenCam. A writing instrument, the PenCam came equipped with a built-in video recorder that documented an athlete’s signature as he or she signed pieces of memorabilia. A few of the athletes included exclusive Upper Deck spokesmen Michael Jordan, Tiger Woods and Wayne Gretzky.
“I’m just an old-school trading card guy trying to move into the new digital collectibles NFT world,” he said.
The unique PhygiCards trading cards and NFTs are both scheduled to launch October 14, 2021. For the latest information on PhygiCards, PhygiLink and our upcoming product releases, please visit www.phygicards.io. Trading card sales page: www.td35.net.
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Media Contact:
Brenton Demko
858-776-8989